Dave Ramsey

[jdeasy]

Where are you buying your leads? I think maybe you listened to Dave and are making this up. If you are working the FE market, you won't run into this. Gooner said he did once, but it was probably a referral. If they are truely that head strong, write them term. Simple fix!

I agree. Working the FE market you will run into very few Ramseyites. Just by it's very nature they are not the same people.

I've run into true Ramseyite in six years of running FE leads. I asked her if she wanted to buy 20 year term. She said no, I said goodbye.

 

[Newby]

I run into one or two every year. I almost always sell them because I have a very good understanding of Dave. I'm a fan of his sales/ communication skills. Much of his advice is obviously crazy but he has a great way of presenting it.

You use a two stage attack. First you just try to sell what he tells them they need. If that doesn't work you make them realize that they are not really on his plan anyway and make them realize that if they don't become rich they will need some whole-life.

Here's an old post I did in another thread back in 2010. This has worked well for me:


I am a Dave Ramsey listener and enjoy his show. I think he's a great communicator. I sell a LOT of his listeners. I sell them term, whole-life, long-term care, etc.

It's very simple how I do it. You agree with everything he says as a workable plan.

My database has two checkboxes 1. Suzi Orman Fan 2. Dave Ramsey fan.

When those boxes are checked I market term life, long-term care (after age 60), HSA health plans and anything else they hear recommended on the show.

If Dave does a big speech on everyone over age 60 needs to have LTC insurance on today's show, I can pull all my Dave fans over age 60 that don't own LTC out of my database in 10-seconds and have a mailer in their mailbox tomorrow.

It's also very easy to sell Dave fans whole-life or GUL which he says are a waste of money. You just agree with him IF they are following Dave's plan.

Here is an actual conversation I had this week. The client was a divorced lady age 51, slightly overweight and good but not preferred health, lower middle-class income. She wanted insurance mainly to cover funeral and final expenses, kids are adults:

Client: I listen to Dave Ramsey and he says to only buy term life insurance. I don't totally understand why or what other kind there is.

Me: Great! I like to listen to Dave too. He is very good about reminding people to live within their means and not running up debt. That's important for everyone.

His insurance information is sound also provided that you are going to fully follow Dave's complete plan and NOT pick bits and pieces of it.

Client: What do you mean?

Me: Well, you have a choice of term life insurance like Dave recommends or permanent whole-life insurance. The term insurance is MUCH less expensive which is why Dave recommends it. Whole-life is very affordable in smaller amounts but probably 5 to 10 times more than term if you are comparing the same death benefit.

Client: So why would anyone buy whole-life?

Me: Because it's permanent. It will always be the same premium amount. The term will last 20 or 30 years or for whatever term you need it but then it will end or the rate will be so high no one would keep it.

Client: Why does Dave say EVERYBODY should by term? What if you live past the insurance coverage?

Me: It won't matter because if you're following Dave's complete plan you will be filthy rich anyway.

Client: How can he guarantee that?

Me: Dave's plan makes perfect sense IF you are going to get gazelle intense with it. You have to do all these things for it to work OR you will expose yourself to problems.
1. Cut everything you can out of your spending.
2. Increase your income by asking for raises or finding a new employer that will pay you more. Take on extra jobs like delivering pizza at night.
3. Never eat out. Take your lunch to work. Eat lots of rice and beans and beans and rice.
4. Pay off all debts from the smallest balance to the largest. This is called debt snowballing. Get completely out of debt.
5. If you have a car payment, sell your car. Even if you are upside down in a payment sell it for what you can and refinance the balance and pay it off in your debt snowball. Buy a $1,500 "beater" car to drive until you are completely out of debt.
6. You need to make sure you have good health insurance in place (preferably an HSA) and long-term disability coverage.
7. You need an emergency fund that is liquid and has at least $1,000 in it. Once you are out of debt you want to build 6-months of expenses in it.
8. Once you are completely out of debt you stay on course and sock all that extra money into retirement accounts. You can upgrade your car to around $3,000 at this point if you pay cash for it.
9. Once you are rich enough, you can cancel your term life insurance and when you retire you cancel your disability and get LTC.
Now you can live like no one else because you have lived like no one else.

Client: Hmmmmmmm. I don't think I'm ever going to be rich. How much is the whole-life insurance?

Me: $40.32 for $25,000 of whole-life coverage.

Client: GIVE ME THAT!!! That Dave Ramsey is full of crap! I'm not driving a beater car and delivering pizzas all night just to save forty dollars a MONTH! He's NUTS! Why would I want term life insurance? I'm not paying for something and then worrying that I might LIVE TOO LONG. Give me that $40 plan. I need to turn off the radio.


Agreeing will get you much further than debating or argrueing.

 

[jdeasy]

You aren't running into them from fe leads.

Ranseyites are not my people so I have no reason to do battle with them.

I have a friend that is a true believer. He lives like a hermit. But he will do anything that Dave says.

He doesn't need a FE policy because he has the money to pay for his funeral. Thus he is not a FE prospect.

 

[Newby]

You aren't running into them from fe leads. Ranseyites are not my people so I have no reason to do battle with them. I have a friend that is a true believer. He lives like a hermit. But he will do anything that Dave says. He doesn't need a FE policy because he has the money to pay for his funeral. Thus he is not a FE prospect.

Ramsey's main base is broke people. But the ones with no hope at all of fixing that are not going to like him.

But yes, I do find people who follow Dave Ramsey from FE leads.

It has always amazed me that people have to be taught to spend less they earn and don't go into debt except for your home or something that is going to make you money. He has built an empire teaching things to people that should be obvious.

 

[nfl72]

I thought this was the final Expense forum.

$40 a month for a $25,000 WL policy happens about as often as I talk to a 30 year old about life insurance. Which is about as often as a FE client has even heard of Ramsey.

The typical FE buyer buys term because they don't know anything at all about what it is they are buying. I usually try to educate them or just move on to the NFL.

Next Frucker in Line

 

[Newby]

I thought this was the final Expense forum. $40 a month for a $25,000 WL policy happens about as often as I talk to a 30 year old about life insurance. Which is about as often as a FE client has even heard of Ramsey. The typical FE buyer buys term because they don't know anything at all about what it is they are buying. I usually try to educate them or just move on to the NFL. Next Frucker in Line

That story was from a true case from an FE lead. Lead was on her dad. She was the decision maker. They bought on the dad and at the policy delivery I sold her.

Not too out of the ordinary case.

 

[jdeasy]

That story was from a true case from an FE lead. Lead was on her dad. She was the decision maker. They bought on the dad and at the policy delivery I sold her.

Not too out of the ordinary case.

Not out of the the ordinary for you and your business. For the rest of us that are 100% in the FE field and don't have 2 walk in offices it is very out of the ordinary.

 

[munson]

As I recall back in the 70's and 80's there was a company A. L . Williams. They preached to buy term, and with the money you saved, invest the rest. In theory if they did that at the end of the 20 or 30 year term they would have enough saved from the investing each month, they would not need insurance.

The problem was nobody invested the rest. At the end of the term they are left out in the cold, hung out to dry without a pot to piss in. Which pretty much describes the typical FE buyer today!

I was a PRU agent. All whole life or variable. The only term we had was decreasing or annually renewable. Permanent insurance is what we did. In training, we were shown a video (vhs tape) of Art Williams saying " everyone knows that all full-time life insurance agents are dam gum scum" (as spit is coming from his mouth). I swear this is true. I showed that to prospects that spoke about A.L. Williams. I believe they were bought out by Primerica.

 

[Norwayguy]

I was a PRU agent. All whole life or variable. The only term we had was decreasing or annually renewable. Permanent insurance is what we did. In training, we were shown a video (vhs tape) of Art Williams saying " everyone knows that all full-time life insurance agents are dam gum scum" (as spit is coming from his mouth). I swear this is true. I showed that to prospects that spoke about A.L. Williams. I believe they were bought out by Primerica.

You believe? Of course what was A.L Williams is now Primerica any life agent for the last 20 years should be certain of that. I always loved the part sour how much higher my comp was over the Primerica Agents comp (not my fault they were being raped) and they would whine about how much I was making on the sale when I was providing as much or more coverage, guaranteed for a longer period and for less money.

 

[Cyborg7]

Tell them that they can't get term because they are too fat, disabled & the oxygen use doesn't help either

Ramsey is a marketer and entertainer

He has no idea that 70% of our people are on the disability check